GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- Top-seeded Gwynedd Mercy advanced to the championship game of the 2019 Atlantic East Men's Basketball Tournament with a 101-84 semifinal victory over fourth-seeded Wesley Thursday night at The Griffin Complex.
The Griffins will face third-seeded Marymount, who won at #2 Marywood in the other semifinal, here on Saturday for the title with a 2 p.m. tip.
Senior Courtney Cubbage scored a career-high 36 points on 14-of-19 from the floor while grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He netted 26 of those points in the second half alone. He was one of five starters in double figures as the Griffins ran off a huge scoring run while limiting Wesley in the first half for a 48-20 lead at the break.
Matt Sommers tied a season high with 17 points as he drained five treys. Donaven Spencer added a personal-best 16 points with Rich Dunham (13 points) and Clayton Wolfe (10 points) rounding out the double-digit leaders.
Brian Cameron went for 38 points for the Wolverines, connecting on eight of the team's 15 three-pointers on the evening. Evan Anderson added 19 with Terrence Braxton totaling 13.
Tied at 10-10 midway through the first half, GMercyU turned it on, getting triples from Sommers, Wolfe, and Dunham as part of a 15-0 run. The squad closed the stanza on an 11-0 spurt to lead by 28 at halftime. Gwynedd held Wesley to 8-of-26 shooting (30.8%) and just 3-of-14 from downtown.
The lead swelled to as much as 34 (56-22) after two free throws from Somah Slewion less than five minutes into the stanza.
Cameron almost singlehandedly helped pull the Wolverines to within striking distance, netting 32 of his 38 points in the final 20 minutes. However, Gwynedd kept up the offense, going for a 62.1 % shooting clip (18-of29) in the second half.
Gwynedd Mercy posted a season high +18 in rebound margin (44-26) with Spencer snaring eight, Jeff Seigafuse with seven and Wolfe with six. Wolfe also doled out a game-high eight assists.
Marymount and Gwynedd split the regular-season series with each team winning on the other's home floor.